Digital Cameras - Fuji FinePix A340 Zoom Test Images

I've begun including links in our reviews to a Thumber-generated
index page for the test shots. The Thumber data includes a host of information
on the images, including shutter speed, ISOsetting, compression setting,
etc. Rather than clutter the page below with *all*that detail, we're posting
the Thumber index so only those interested inthe information need wade through
it!

High resolution and strong detail, with good color. Contrast is high,
however, and a lot of subtle detail is traded away to keep the image noise
down.

The extreme tonal range of this image makes it a tough shot for many
digicams, which is precisely why I set it up this way, and why I shoot
it with no fill flash or reflector to open the shadows. The object is
to hold both highlight and shadow detail without producing a "flat"
picture with muddy colors, and the Fuji FinePix A340 Zoom produced good
color but with very high contrast that lost a fair bit of highlight detail.

The shot at right was taken with a +0.7 EV exposure
compensation adjustment, which sacrificed highlight detail to get reasonably
bright midtones. I chose the Auto
white balance setting over the slightly cooler Daylight
setting for the main series.

Skin tones are good, though just slightly reddish, and the blue flowers
in the bouquet are rendered very well. (Many digicams have trouble with
this blue, but the A340 Zoom gets about the right balance between blue
and purplish tints.) Color looks good throughout the rest of the frame
as well, though the red flowers are a bit hot. Resolution is good for
a three-megapixel camera, and edges are quite sharp, but the camera gives
up a lot of detail in the subtly shaded areas of Marti's hair.

To view the entire exposure series from zero to +1.3 EV, see files A34OUTBAP0.HTM
through A34OUTBAP4.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

Good resolution and detail, but high contrast
and overly "hot" skin tones.

Color balance and overall exposure appear similar
to the wider shot above. The shot at right was taken with a +0.3 EV exposure
compensation adjustment, which resulted in overly hot highlights, but
rather dark midtones and shadows. The Fuji A340 Zoom's 3x zoom lens helps
prevent geometric distortion of Marti's features, and captures sharp details.
Resolution and detail are much higher in this close-up shot, though the
anti-noise processing again decreases clarity in some areas of Marti's
hair.

To view the entire exposure series from -0.3 to +1.3 EV, see files A34FACBAM1.HTM
through A34FACBAP4.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

A moderately powerful flash, though pretty good coverage. Strong color
cast from the background lighting.

The Fuji FinePix A340 Zoom's built-in flash proved a little dim, though
coverage is actually fairly even on the subject. (The A340's exposure
compensation adjustment doesn't affect normal flash exposures.) With the
normal flash mode, overall color is warm with
a noticeable red-orange cast created by the background incandescent lighting.
The camera's Slow-Sync flash mode results in
a brighter overall exposure. The longer exposure time brightens the shot,
but also increases the warm cast from the background lighting. I chose
an exposure compensation adjustment of +0.3 EV, as anything brighter only
intensified the harsh highlights.

This shot is always a very tough test of a camera's white balance capability,
given the strong yellowish color cast of the household incandescent bulbs
used for the lighting. Though slightly warm and yellow, the A340 Zoom's
Incandescent white balance setting did the best job here, as the Auto
setting resulted in a stronger red cast. I personally prefer a bit less
color cast left in this shot, but many people prefer to see more of the
color of the original lighting like this. (It also tends to be a bit less
apparent when printed out on an inkjet printer, vs viewed on-screen.)
I shot the main image with a +0.7 EV exposure compensation adjustment,
which left the image a little dark overall, but avoided problems with
the highlights on Marti's shirt. Image noise is very high, and obscures
the finer details.

To view the entire exposure series from zero to +1.7 EV, see files A34INTP0.HTM
through A34INTP5.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

High resolution and detail, though high image noise as well. Nearly
accurate color.

I chose the Fuji A340 Zoom's Auto white
balance setting for the main shot here, despite a slight red tint. (The
Daylight setting resulted in a warmer, yellow
color cast.) Resolution is high, but the camera's anti-noise processing
leaves the shadowed areas of the bricks on the front of the house looking
almost like they were finger-painted. While a lot of fine detail is visible,
the noise reduction processing exacts a heavy toll in areas of subtle
contrast. Details are fairly sharp throughout most of the frame, but soften
in the two bottom corners.

High resolution and strong detail in areas of high contrast, but detail
is lost in areas where contrast is more subtle.

This image is shot at infinity to test far-field
lens performance. NOTE that this image cannot be directly compared to
the other "house" shot, which is a poster, shot in the studio.
The rendering of detail in the poster will be very different than in this
shot, and color values (and even the presence or absence of leaves on
the trees!) will vary in this subject as the seasons progress. In general
though, you can evaluate detail in the bricks, shingles and window detail,
and in the tree branches against the sky. Compression artifacts are most
likely to show in the trim along the edge of the roof, in the bricks,
or in the relatively "flat" areas in the windows.

This is my ultimate "resolution shot,"
given the infinite range of detail in a natural scene like this, and the
A340 Zoom did pretty well with it. Detail is strong in the tree limbs
over the roof and fine foliage in front of the house, though details are
slightly soft overall. Lens distortion results in a good bit of softness
in the lower corners of the frame as well. The camera picks up moderate
detail in the bright white paint surrounding the bay window, a trouble
spot for many digicams, but was doubtless helped a good bit by the hazy
conditions when these photos were shot. Detail is also moderate in the
shadow area above the front door. The A340's overly aggressive noise-reduction
processing shows itself here again, in the form of obscured detail in
the bricks on the front of the house. Overall color looks good, as does
exposure. The table below shows a standard resolution and quality series.

I routinely shoot this series of images to show the field of view for
each camera, with the lens at full wide angle, at maximum telephoto (3x,
in this case), and at full telephoto with the digital zoom enabled. The
A340 Zoom's lens is equivalent to a 38-114mm zoom on a 35mm camera. That
corresponds to a moderate wide angle to a moderate telephoto. Following
are the results at each zoom setting.

Slightly warm color from the blue in the composition, and good detail.

This shot is often a tough test for digicams, as the abundance of blue
in the composition frequently tricks white balance systems into producing
a warm color balance. Both the A340 Zoom's Auto
and Daylight settings were tricked, and produced
rather warm casts. As the Auto setting had the least of the two, I chose
it for the main shot. The red cast creates purplish tints in the blue
background, as well as in the deep shadows of the blue robe. Detail is
very strong in the embroidery of the blue robe, and is good in the beaded
necklaces and flower garland as well.

About average macro performance, though good detail. Flash throttles
down a bit too much.

The Fuji FinePix A340 Zoom performed about average in the macro category,
capturing a minimum area of 3.13 x 2.35 inches (80 x 60 millimeters).
Resolution is very high, and detail is strong in the dollar bill, brooch,
and coins. Details are also sharp, with just a little softness in the
corners of the frame. The A340 Zoom's flash
throttled down a bit too much for the macro area (probably fooled by the
reflection from the brooch), and creates an uneven exposure. - Plan on
using external lighting for your closest macro shots with the A340.

The Fuji A340 Zoom's Auto and Daylight
white balance settings both produced warm color balances here, but I chose
the Auto setting because it had a lesser cast. Exposure is about right,
and the camera has no trouble distinguishing the subtle tonal variations
of the Q60 target. The large color blocks look bright and appealing, but
all the warm tones are pretty dramatically oversaturated. The shadow area
of the charcoal briquettes shows moderate detail, and image noise is somewhat
high.

Low-Light Tests

Limited low-light capabilities, but good enough results under light
levels equivalent to average city street lighting at night. Very limited
low-light autofocus ability though.

The Fuji A340 Zoom produced clear, bright, usable images only down to
the one foot-candle (11 lux) light level, a light level that corresponds
to that of typical city street lighting at night. Color balance was warm
with the Auto white balance setting, and became progressively warmer as
the exposure lowered. Image noise is high, but the grain pattern is somewhat
faint, causing it to be less noticeable. The most significant limitation
for after-dark shooting with the A340 is probably its autofocus system,
which can't quite focus at the level of typical city street lighting at
night. (Make sure you have a brighter object somewhere near the center
of the frame, for the camera to focus on.) The table below shows the best
exposure I was able to obtain for each of a range of illumination levels.
Images in this table (like all our sample photos) are untouched, exactly
as they came from the camera.

(Note: If you'd like to use a light meter to
check light levels for subjects you might be interested in shooting, a
light level of one foot-candle corresponds to a normal exposure of two
seconds at f/2.8 and ISO 100.)

1 fc
11 lux

1/2 fc
5.5 lux

1/4 fc
2.7 lux

1/8 fc
1.3 lux

1/16 fc
0.67 lux

ISO
100

2 sec
f2.8

2 sec
f2.8

2 sec
f2.8

2 sec
f2.8

2 sec
f2.8

Flash Range Test

Flash range of 14 feet, but the camera "cheats" to get there.

The Fuji FinePix A340 Zoom had a flash range of 14 feet, but it "cheated"
a little by boosting its ISO to achieve it. This does give a greater range,
but the images are much noisier as a result.

The Fuji FinePix A340 Zoom performed well on the "laboratory"
resolution test chart. It started showing artifacts in the test patterns
at resolutions as low as 800 lines per picture height, in both horizontal
and vertical directions. I found "strong detail" out to about
1,200 lines. "Extinction" of the target patterns occurred around
1,350 lines.

Optical distortion on the A340 Zoom is about average at the wide-angle
end, where I measured approximately 0.7 percent barrel distortion. The
telephoto end fared much better, as I measured only 0.04 percent barrel
distortion (about one pixel) there. Chromatic aberration is fairly low,
showing about three pixels of rather faint coloration on either side of
the target lines. (This distortion is visible as a very slight colored
fringe around the objects at the edges of the field of view on the resolution
target.) Sharpness in the corners of the frame is better than average.

The A340 Zoom's optical viewfinder showed about 81 percent of the final
image area at wide angle, and about 79 percent at telephoto. The LCD
monitor showed 91 percent of the frame at wide angle, and about 89 percent
at telephoto. Flash distribution is uneven and dim at wide angle, with
falloff at the corners and edges of the frame. At telephoto, flash distribution
is more uniform and brighter.